Hybrids
by MagicPrussian StoryTime
Summary: They are like nothing you've ever seen. Now they are on the run from scientists who would like nothing more than to put them in cages like animals. Is there any hope for a normal life when you're like this? Probably not. Adopted from Shadow-Jones.
1. Prologue

_Hello everyone. Today, I have the prologue of a story many of you may be familiar to. Hybrids. The wonderful author of the original has decided to stop writing Hybrids. And so, I have adopted it from them! I'll try to update when I can. Maybe once a week or maybe every few days.  
The plot and original story both belong to Shadow-Jones. And I do not own Hetalia, sadly.  
So with that, on to the story!_

* * *

"I think it worked! We've done it!"

"It does seem as though the DNA is taking to these subjects better than the others. Though, the effects are still unknown."

"Does it matter? None of the subjects have accepted the DNA into their genetics, but these few. They've accepted it! We will just have to see what the effects are later."

"There is a chance that there won't be any effects."

"What do you mean?! We deteriorated half of their genetic codes! It's highly unlikely that nothing will happen!"

Far below the surface, in a dimly lit underground laboratory, the two scientists argued. Twelve male bodies lie under the florescent lighting, motionless, asleep. Each were alive and in good health, due to multiple tubes running into their bodies.

The lead scientist laughed with his head held high, obviously proud of his work. "The others will feel like fools when they see what we accomplished! We will be famous!"

The other scientist's eyes widened. "Are you insane!? We can't tell anyone of this. You seem to have forgotten that these teenagers didn't sign up for this!"

"I am perfectly aware of this, but I'm sure with a little bit of persuasion they will acquiesce with us." He motion to the many devices that lay scattered in the lab.

"We've already had to kidnap so many kids... I'm not going to be hurting any of them! This underground research we've been doing isn't right!" His foot hit the ground angrily. He hadn't signed up for this kind of research. Yes, he fancied science but not human testing. And testing on the teenagers was just wrong.

The other let out a long sigh. "I see. Well, I cannot have unfaithful subordinates. But then again, you are a valuable asset to my research team. Without you, I would never have been able to get my hands on the equipment I needed." He let his hand rest on his subordinate's shoulder.

"I... Well I.. Thank you? But needless to say, I want to-" He was cut off by a loud siren echoing throughout the room.

"Oh no... They've found us!" The man raced forward and looked at the security screen. His eyes hardened when he saw police officers running through the halls of his lab, arresting personnel. "My research cannot be destroyed." One of the drawers on his desk were opened and he pulled out multiple ankle bracelets. "Attach these to each of the successful subjects." The anklets were thrown to his subordinate.

"And the...unsuccessful subjects? What of them?" he asked, beginning to go down the row of tables.

"I will deal with them. I must erase all evidence of their existence."

The subordinate finished attaching the anklets and turned to him. "Erase their existence? and how will you go about that?"

"I have my ways. Now, get out of here and meet me at the backup lab. Our subjects will have to be collected later." With those words, he disappeared into a room filled with failed experiments.

Now alone, the subordinate stared with wide, scared eyes as screams resonated from the room. "What have I gotten myself into? This is...far beyond what I signed up to do." He took a deep, shaky breath. "But I have no choice. These teens might just be my future and I cannot stop halfway in."

The door to the room was locked, but he could hear the officers trying to break in. "Good luck in getting out of here, boss." Each teen was given a pitiful look before he left, going out the emergency exit.


	2. Chapter 1

_Hallo again, my awesome readers. For the next 11 chapters, it will be the same as the original story by Shadow-Jones. And after Chapter 11, I, along with someone who is helping with ideas, will continue on. So, onto the story!_

* * *

Arthur tried to drown out the constant chatter going on in the room. He never remembered there being so much noise. He attempted to rub his eyes but found that his hands were restrained. Arthur opened his eyes, the shapes around him came out hazy.

"Hey the eyebrows dude is waking up!" came a loud, obnoxious voice.

"Ve~ he was sleeping for a long time," another voice said.

"Honhonhon, took long enough for him to finally come to," said another.

Arthur heard other voices speaking up but he tried to ignore them. Managing to find his voice, Arthur spoke up. "Can one of you bloody untie me?" His vision was starting to come into focus. He realized he was in a large room with multiple beds, and many other teenagers like himself.

"Oh! I'll do it!" The loud voice belonged to a bubbly dark blonde boy with sky blue eyes obviously American. He reached forward and tugged against the restraints, pulling them loose.

"Thank you," Arthur said, rubbing against his sore wrists. He looked around at the faces staring back at him. "Can anybody tell me what the bloody hell is going on?"

A strict looking blonde with cold blue eyes stood up from the bed he had been sitting on. "That is what ve were trying to figure out. Everyone just woke up here. I don't know vhere we are either." He gestured to the door. "We already tried the door but it vas locked."

"I do not like being stuck here. I want to get out of here, da," said a very tall, threatening Russian. He had purple eyes and silver hair; he had an agitated aura surrounding him that gave Arthur the chills.

An Italian skipped over to the strict blonde. He latched his arms around him and…purred? "Ve~ I am scared but Ludwig will protect me, right?"

Ludwig blushed slightly and pushed him away. "Ja, I vill but please don't get so close."

Arthur raised one of his large eyebrows. "Ludwig?"

A quiet Japanese teen crept out from behind his bed. "Forgive us. We have already been acquainted with each other. You were sleeping so long that we started just getting to know each other. It was rather awkward sitting in silence. My name is Kiku by the way."

The other began to introduce themselves, starting with the strict blonde. "As you have already figured out, I am Ludwig."

The Italian stood, er bounced, up next. "Ve~Ve~ my name's Feliciano but you can call me Feli! I like pasta!"

"Honhonhon, I am the gorgeous Francis. Please hold your applause," said a longer haired blonde with blue eyes. His hair was wavier than the other blondes. He had an air about him that annoyed the crap out of Arthur.

"I am Ivan, da. I want everybody to do what I say," said the Russian. He smiled at Arthur and sat back on his bed. Arthur scooted a bit farther away from him, as did everyone else.

A boy with long brown hair tied back in a ponytail stood up. "I am Wang Yao, aru. But please call me Yao." He sat down next to Ivan surprisingly.

That left the bubbly dark blonde. He looked ready to burst form excitement. "My name's Alfred! I'm the hero and totally the coolest one here!" He grabbed hold of Arthur's hand shook his hand vigorously.

Arthur pulled his back, startled by his attitude. "Pleasure to meet everyone. My name is Arthur. And I would appreciate if you would all help me find a way out of here."

"That won't be necessary Mr. Kirkland. I assure you, you are perfectly safe. This is the Northwood hospital. We just need to check everyone up one more time then you can all go," a nurse said. She had poked her head in on check on the latest patients. "I will be glad to answer everyone's questions and explain at a later time. Now I think you should all just get some rest," she said sensing the wave of questions about to come at her. She quickly closed the door once more.

Arthur sighed and fell back onto his bed. "Well this is just bloody brilliant." He put a hand to his head. "Why are we even here?" He felt something cold around his ankle. "And what the hell is this?" he asked, looking at the peculiar green band around his ankle.

"Oh yea, we all have those things! They don't come off so we just assumed they are for medicine or something," Alfred said. He showed off his blue one.

"How long have you guys been awake?" Arthur inquired.

"Not too long, Arthur," Kiku answered. He pulled up his hospital pants slightly to show a black band.

"So, nobody has even the faintest idea why we are here or what could possibly be wrong with us?" Arthur asked.

The others shook their heads.

"This just gets better and-" he stopped. His eyes were drawn to something pocking out behind Feliciano. "Um, Feliciano…"

"Ve~ what's the matter, Arthur?" Feliciano looked at him innocently.

The others were starting to realize what Arthur was looking at. Their eyes getting wider as well.

Feliciano caught on and looked behind him. His eyes settling on the long furry cat-like tail coming from his backside. He did what any rational human being would do at the sight.

He screamed bloody murder.


	3. Chapter 2

Ludwig, Kiku, and Yao were trying to calm the young Italian. He had almost lost it at the sight of the furry tail. His ears had also changed to cat-like ears coming from the top of his head. Feliciano was now currently hyperventilating on his bed.

"V-Ve… I-I don't w-want to d-die," Feliciano said quietly. "Ludwig am I going to d-die?"

Ludwig gave him a sympathetic look. "Nein, I do not think you vill die. We just have to figure this out."

Arthur was pacing. He didn't understand any of this. He had given Feliciano an examination to see if anything about this…change could be deadly. Nothing about it seemed life threatening. "Bloody hell. There must be something I'm missing."

Kiku's voice brought Arthur's attention back to Feliciano. "Oh, it seems your ankle bracelet is glowing." He pointed to the amber anklet that Feliciano had. Sure enough, there was a small glow coming from it.

Arthur hurried over and touched the anklet. Feliciano, surprisingly, hissed at him. "Ve! Do. Not. Touch. That."

Arthur looked up at him, confused. "Sorry," he mumbled.

Ludwig glared at Feliciano. "Do not be rude. He is trying to help you." He pulled on one of Feliciano's ears for good measure. This caused him to let out a distressed whimper.

"Ve~ I'm so sorry, Arthur! Please don't hurt me! I'll be good! I'll be good." Feliciano was almost on his knees begging, his tail hung low and his ears drew downward.

Arthur gave him a small smile. "Don't worry about it. No problem at all." He seemed interested in the way Feliciano's tail and ears reacted at his burst of emotion. "I just want to try something." He reached forward and scratched behind Feliciano's left ear.

"Ve~ that feels really nice. Ve~" he purred. His was swishing back and forth, ear perked up happily.

Arthur stopped scratching and sighed. "Well, he definitely has cat-like features and a bit of a personality to match." Suddenly Ludwig's anklet began to glow.

Ludwig looked at it in surprise. "What is going on vith mine now?" Then two pointed blonde wolf ears popped out and a tail to match. "What the hell!" He stumbled backward, falling off the edge of the bed.

Feliciano was at his side almost instantly. "Ve~ you have ears and a tail like me! Yay!" Feliciano began to clap happily.

The others stared at him. Their faces ranging from worry to amusement.

"Hey, Ludwig, looks like you got whatever Feli's got, bro!" Alfred pointed at him with an amused smile.

"Honhonhon, I thought you would get a bull because of that personality," Francis chirped out.

Ivan was smiling. "This is rather amusing, da."

"Aiya, this isn't good," Yao had his face in his hands. "Now there are two of them, aru."

"…" Kiku simply sighed.

Arthur was quick to try and diagnose Ludwig. He came up with the same conclusion he did with Feliciano.

Ludwig's tail shot straight up. "This isn't amusing you idiots. Something veird is going on here." Ludwig felt his face get warm when his tail spiked up. "Damn thing…"

Kiku nodded apologetically "Forgive us. We need to find out- Oh, my…" His anklet began to glow. "I do not think this will go well…" On cue two black fox ears popped out of his head. A tail showed up a few moments after. Kiku brushed one hand over the tail. "Hmm, I like foxes."

Francis had a perverted smile as he crept up behind Kiku and gently gave his tail a tug.

"!" Kiku nearly jumped a foot in the air. "Please do not touch me, Francis," He said, trying to smooth down the ruffled fur.

Arthur hit him on the head. "Don't be such a pervert. Now can you guys sit down so we can attempt to figure this situation out." Arthur glared hard at Alfred when he started laughing. "What is it you find so amusing?"

"Nothing, Aslan. Can I ride to Narnia on your back?" Alfred asked, laughing. He was pointing at Arthur.

The others began to slowly chuckle to themselves.

"What are you all laughing at?" Arthur felt something brush against his leg. "Shit." He reached behind him and grabbed hold of the flickering tail. "Lion…" He reached up and squeezed the two furry ears coming from his head.

Alfred laughed again. "Don't worry about it! Lions are pretty badass. And you need all the help you can get, dude."

"Aiya! I've got it too!" Yap yelled, getting everyone's attention. "Panda, aru!" He actually seemed pleased at the animal. His small panda tail was shaking happily. "I like panda's, aru."

Arthur sat down, setting his tail in his lap. "Well that leaves you three without this…problem." He pointed to Francis, Ivan and Alfred. However, Francis's royal blue anklet began to glow.

"Honhonhon, I wonder what sexy animal I will get?" Francis waited . He watched as the other expressions contorted. They all laughed at him. "What are you laughing at?" He looked behind him to the rather poofy tail. "It iz a bunny!" Two rather large rabbit ears drooped down in front of his face. He attempted to get them to stand back up but they fell again. A cotton tail puffed out from behind him. "I like bunnies!" he yelled that the others, most of which were will laughing.

While everyone was focused on Francis, Ivan's silver band began to glow. "It is my turn, da." He said, loud enough for the others to hear. He felt two matching ears and tail pop out. "What animal am I?' he asked innocently.

Arthur took a tentative step forward. "I think you are a bear."

Ivan's smile grew. "I like this. Bears are strong. I can crush you all if I want." He sat down next to Yao. "We are similar, panda." He held him close. Yao shivered at the contact.

Alfred puffed out his cheeks. "Hey! What about me?" He crossed his arms and waited. Nothing happened. "Not fair!"

Arthur sighed. "You should be grateful. This is awful… We can't let anybody know about this." His mind snapped back to the nurse, she could come back at any moment. "Look we need to try and hide our…ears and tail." It sounded weird to say such a thing but he went on. "Everyone try and figure a way to make yourselves look normal." He immediately flattened his own ears to his head. "There. That looks normal enough." He tucked his tail into the back of his hospital pants. "Uncomfortable but bearable."

Ivan and Yao did the same. They had a bit of difficulty with their tails though and vowed to remain sitting down.

Feliciano, Kiku and Ludwig flattened their ears. Feliciano curled up his tail tightly so it was out of view. Kiku pushed his tail into his pants. Ludwig tucked his in as well, growling when he pulled to hard.

Francis seemed to be having the most difficulty. His tail was hidden just fine. His ears however… "They're too big! I can't just flatten them enough to look normal!" He pulled on his ears. "What can I do?"

Ivan smiled. "I have an idea."

"What?"

Ivan brought his hand down on Francis's head. Hard. Francis fell back against his bed, unconscious. "There." Ivan threw the blankets over his body and a pillow over his head. "Now he looks like he is sleeping. That's good, da."

The others nodded uncertainly. "Did you really need to knock him out?" Kiku asked quietly.

"Da."

Arthur looked at everyone. All except Alfred looked uncomfortable but normal enough. "This might work." Just in time. Arthur heard footsteps drawing near.

The nurse from before opened the door with a bright smile. "How is everyone?"

"Fine, thank you." Arthur said gratefully. "Is there anything you need us for Miss?

She shook her head. "No, just checking on you lot. Have you been experiencing anything…weird?"

Arthur shifted. "No. Nothing out of the ordinary."

The nurse's gaze hardened. "I see. Well, then. Let me know if anything…" She trailed off, her eyes shining with malice. "Perfect. Just perfect."

Everyone followed her gaze to Alfred. Said boy had two brownish-white wings coming from his back.

He looked back at everyone. "What? Is there something on my…" He noticed the wings. "Oh, hell yes!"

"Shit."


	4. Chapter 3

"Shit." Arthur stared wide-eyed at the nurse as her face contorted. She backed up slightly, never taking her eyes off Alfred.

Alfred was staring at his wings with a sparkle in his eye. He stretched them out as wide as they could reach, about fourteen feet wingtip to wingtip. "This. Is. Awesome."

The others had caught on to the nurse's odd behavior and moved closer together. Feliciano allowed his tail to reappear as well as his ears. Ludwig followed after, the others joining in.

"Well, this is an odd turn of events. Alfred? That's your name, right? Would you mind coming with me for a moment?" The nurse held out a hand.

Alfred looked at her and flashed a smile. "Huh, sure why not." He stepped toward her only to have Arthur block his path.

"You idiot! Didn't your mother tell you not to go with strangers?" He narrowed his eyes at the nurse. "I think we would like to check out now."

The nurse returned Arthur's glare. "I don't think so, sir." She drew a syringe from her pocket. "I think you should come with me now." Suddenly she fell down, unconscious.

Ivan stepped out from behind her. "I do not like to be hurting woman. But I can make exceptions. I think we should go now, da."

Arthur nodded. "I think so. Come on. Everyone we need to stick together." The others nodded back.

Ludwig stepped forward. "I think I can find the exit…This might seem strange." He lifted his head and sniffed the air. His eyes closed in concentration. "I think I found it. This way." Ludwig grabbed hold of Feliciano's hand. "Stay close."

Arthur was about to move but then remembered one important detail. "Shite, someone grab the perverted rabbit."

"Ooh, I'll get him!" Alfred cheered. He picked up the unconscious body of Francis.

Arthur nodded, he noticed the others had already gone out the open door. "You should, er, tuck in those wings. The hallway is rather narrow."

Alfred gave him thumbs up. He tucked is wings close to his back. "Let's go, the others are gonna leave us behind." Alfred secured his grip on Francis and ran out into the hallway, Arthur following.

They quickly caught up with the others, they were stopped.

Arthur moved ahead of Alfred. "What's the problem?"

Yao turned to face him. "There seems to be a bit of a road block, aru." He stood aside to reveal about four guards blocking their way from the large glass doors.

The guards stared back at him. One stepped forward. "You will all return to your room. Now!"

Ivan was at the front smiling at them. "I am thinking you should all be moving." His hand was clenched to his side.

Arthur noticed his nails had grown out, ending in a fine point. "I wonder…" Arthur looked at his own hand, his nails were only slightly sharper. He looked back at the guards and saw them level a small handgun at Ivan. Arthur's ears drew back, a low growl coming from his throat. He looked back down at his hand. His normally smooth nails had turned sharp. _So when we feel threatened they are at the longest,_ Arthur thought.

Ivan growled. He crouched slightly. "Bad idea." He dodged to the side quickly and drew back his fist. Using a great amount of strength he slashed out at the guard with the gun.

The guard cried out, the gun falling from his hand. Three identical claw marks began to bleed on his forearm. "You animals," he huffed.

"Precisely," Kiku said. He walked forward to stand beside Ivan. "You should all just leave us in peace."

The other three guards exchanged glances but held their ground. "We will use force," one brave guard said.

Ludwig stepped forward and growled at them, his eyes flashing with fury. "You vill get out of our way or ve vill use force." He tail was swishing slowly, ears drawn back.

Feliciano whimpered and backed up against Alfred. "Ve~ this is scary. I want to go…"

The guards drew their weapons. Ludwig and Ivan attacked first, leaving the one uninjured guard to stand alone. "W-we need back up!" he yelled into his radio. "The lab experiments are trying to escape!"

Arthur rushed him, swiping the radio out of his hand. Using his newfound strength, Arthur kicked out at the guard and sent him tumbling across the floor. "Yao," he turned to face him. "Get Alfred and Feliciano out of here!"

Yao nodded quickly. He grabbed hold of Feliciano's hand and pulled him past the guards.

Alfred didn't move. "What about you guys? A hero can't leave his friends hangin."

Arthur rolled his eyes. "We will be right behind you, clear the way for us." Arthur turned back to the guard who starting to get to his feet. Footsteps thundering toward them alerted Arthur that the reinforcements had shown up.

Alfred skirted past the others and out the door. Yao and Feliciano were waiting just outside. "Don't worry dudes, they'll be here in a sec. We just need-" He stopped when Francis began to stir.

"What the 'ell is happening?" Francis looked up at Alfred. "Well, hello there." He wiggled his eyebrows.

Alfred shivered and dropped him. "We are getting the heck away from this crazy place."

Francis stood up. He brushed off his shirt. "Ok, then. Ah, you got some wings, nice touch. Where are ze others?"

Yao nodded toward the building. "Still in there, aru. They'll be fine, I think."

Feliciano's tail fur was standing on end. His ear tips drawn back so they nearly touched his head, his eyes were wide. "Ve! What about Ludwig and my other friends! I don't want you guys to die! I like you all!"

Alfred patted his back, "Don't sorry, bro. I'm sure they are totally kicking ass."

Yao looked around, taking in their surroundings. "This building is a good deal larger than I thought, aru." The hospital building was a sickly looking grey and stretched up about three stories. The area surrounding the hospital was dense forest, just beyond the distant treetops, Yao could make out other buildings from a nearby city. "I feel like I've been here before…."

Before he could go on, the others burst from the front doors. They were running at full pelt. Arthur leading the way. His eyes went right to the thick trees. "Everyone, get to the trees! We can hide there!" Gunshots rang out, the glass of the front doors shattering.

They headed for the trees, just making it as the first of the hospital personnel exited at building. The nurses shouted, pointing to their retreating figures.

Arthur looked back just in time to see the armed guards begin to take off after them. Arthur didn't care that his tail was exposed, they already knew they were different. "They will catch us at this rate." Most of the group was tired from fighting inside the building, particularly Ivan. Arthur noticed blood dripping from Ivan's arm. He looked around, looking for a place to hide. They were surrounded by trees on every side. Wait, trees! Arthur spotted a large tree with thick leaves, if they could get up high enough the guards would pass right by them. "Follow me!" Arthur yelled as loud as he could.

The others, having heard, veered in his direction toward the tree.

"What will a tree do? I can't climb," Francis said when they reached the tree. "There aren't any branched to grab hold of here."

Arthur could hear the guards drawing closer. "Um, Alfred!"

Alfred looked at him surprised. "What?"

"Can you fly us up to the nearest branches, we can climb from there?" Arthur asked. He didn't even know if Alfred could fly at all.

Alfred looked startled. "I don't know how to fly!"

"Try," Arthur urged. "You're a hero, aren't you?"

Alfred bit his lip. He puffed out his chest. "Damn straight I am!" He grabbed hold of Feliciano first. "Get ready dude." Stretching out his wings, Alfred backed up a few paces. With a running start, Alfred leaped into the air. He flapped his wings hard, managing to get airborne. "Holy shit!"

Feliciano held tightly to him. "Ve! Don't drop me!"

"I won't," Alfred puffed out. He lifted Feliciano as high as he could. Feliciano flicked his tail and jumped at the branch just overhead. "

"Ve~ I'm ok!" Feliciano extended his claws and worked his way up to another branch to make room. His tail wrapped securely around the branch.

Alfred swooped back to the ground. "Who's next? I can handle anything!"

Kiku stepped forward. "I guess I am. Thank you, Alfred." Kiku allowed Alfred to pick him up.

Alfred, after a running start, was back in the air. "Get ready, bro!" He flapped hard and swung Kiku at the branch.

Kiku grabbed hold of the branch, almost missing. He dangled for a second before pulling himself up.

Alfred was back on the ground again in a matter of seconds. "Next."

Alfred landed again for the last two. He was worn out after carrying Francis, Yao, and Yao up into the tree. "Come here, Artie." Alfred wrapped his arms around him.

Arthur spluttered, his cheeks growing red. "Who are calling Artie? My name's Arthur, you git!" Arthur held onto Alfred.

"I don't even know what git means, dude. I bet it means hero!" Alfred managed to laugh.

Arthur opened his mouth to argue but clamed up. He could feel Alfred's wing muscles working hard, his heart beat was fast like a birds. _He must be exhausted, we don't exactly weigh a nothing,_ Arthur thought. He felt a wave of admiration for the teen.

Before he knew it, Arthur was safely in the branches with his companions. He climbed up higher and positioned himself on the branch next to Ludwig. "They are almost here! Alfred hurry and get Ivan up!" Arthur could hear the guards crashing through the bushes.

Alfred was panting. He glided back to the ground and held out his arms for Ivan. "Hurry up!"

Alfred grabbed hold of Ivan and flapped. "Holy hell, dude! You weigh a ton!" Alfred felt his muscles straining to lift their combined weight into the tree. "Ever hit the gym, bro?"

"It is all muscle, comrade." Ivan said simply.

Alfred hefted Ivan onto the lowest branch. "Can you manage the rest of the way?"

"Of course." Ivan easily scaled the tree to get near the others.

Alfred landed swiftly on the branch next to Arthur. "Did I do good?"

Arthur couldn't help but smile. "Nice work, hero."

Alfred was about to answer but quickly shut up when the first of the guards passed beneath their tree. They waited until the guards footsteps faded. "I think I'm going to take a hero's nap," Alfred stated. He sunk down onto the branch and let his wings hand limply.

Arthur would like to keep moving but gave Alfred a break, he was probably tired from lifting everyone up. "We are going to rest here for a while, ok guys?"

Everyone muttered their agreements.

Feliciano scooted next to Ludwig. "Ve~ what's going to happen to us? Those scary people want to hurt us!" He began to cry.

Ludwig brushed his tail down Feliciano's back. "Don't vorry. I von't let them get you. We vill be safe here."

Feliciano snuggled close to Ludwig and purred softly. "Ve~ I trust you."

Arthur watched the two of them. He felt his heart swell. _I haven't known these guys for more than a day and yet…they feel like family,_ Arthur sighed at the thought. He watched as most of the group moved to branches closer to each other. Ivan and Yao moved next to each other, Francis moving to a branch just above them, and Kiku to a branch just below. Arthur heard Yao tending to Ivan's wound.

Arthur moved closer to Alfred. "What are we going to do…?" he wondered aloud. He brushed his hand over one of Alfred's wings. Alfred twitched slightly but then lay still. "I'll get us out of here." Arthur watched as the sun began to set. He deemed them safe this high in the tree, at least for the night "We'll head to the city tomorrow," he said to no one in particular.

Ludwig made a noise to acknowledge him.

Arthur settled back against his branch, he wrapped his tail around him for warmth. "See you guys in the morning…" Arthur drifted off, his dreams filled with strange men in white lab coats, and long needles.


	5. Chapter 4

Sunlight filtered through the tree leaves. The sound of birdsong filled the air. There was a sickly sweet aroma from the flowers surrounding the tree on every side. Arthur opened his eyes and yawned.

"Bloody hell…," he grumbled. Looking around he saw the rest of his companions were still dozing. Arthur carefully stood. After quickly stretching his leg muscles he scaled higher in the tree. Once he reached to upper branches, Arthur looked around. The hospital building was still visible. Turning his attention in the opposite direction, Arthur pinpointed the city. It wasn't too far.

Arthur nodded in confirmation. He lowered himself back down. He awoke Ludwig first.

"The hell? Vhat time is it?" Ludwig sat up wearily. His hair had fallen down into his face, he attempted to push it back but to no avail.

Arthur shrugged. "I don't have a clue. Can you wake Feliciano?"

Ludwig nodded. He shook Feliciano's, who was nuzzled against him, shoulders. "Wake up. We are leaving soon."

Feliciano wrapped his tail around Ludwig. "Ve~ five more minutes," he mumbled.

Ludwig blushed and removed Feliciano's tail from his waist. "No, you need to get up now."

Arthur chuckled at the display. He moved back toward Alfred.

Alfred was almost falling off his branch. His wings wrapped tightly around him. Occasionally he would twitch, his feathers ruffling.

"Alfred. Alfred, wake up." Arthur tried to gently rouse him.

Alfred began to stir. "Hmm, is it time from breakfast already?" He yawned. "Ow…" His wing muscles stretched out, stiff from overuse the previous day.

Arthur cuffed his head. "We will be leaving in a few minutes so get yourself ready." He noticed Kiku was now awake. "Good morning, Kiku."

Kiku bowed in return. "Good morning."

Arthur heard a sound above his head. He looked up to see the body of Francis slowly sliding off his branch. "Shite…." Francis's, still asleep, body fell, aiming right for Arthur.

"Oooof," Francis's eyes snapped open when he landed on something rather soft. "What happened?"

"Get. The. Hell. Off. Me."

Francis glanced down. "Ah, hello Arthur." Francis's ears were perked up.

Arthur growled. "Get off!" He shoved him to the side, almost shoving him out of the tree.

Alfred laughed at the two. "Thanks for the morning show! I needed that!" Alfred jumped off his branch and into the air. He spread his wings and surged up. "This has got to be the best thing ever!"

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Don't go to high! You might be seen…"

"Let him, da."

Arthur jumped. "Bloody hell, Ivan! Don't sneak up on me like that!"

Ivan was looking at him innocently. "I thought you had catlike abilities? I would think you could hear me."

Arthur grumbled a response.

Yao woke with a squeak. "Aiya! Ivan, w-why are you so close?" he asked. Yao moved to a different branch.

Ivan's smile faltered for a minute when Yao moved. "No reason, da. I just wanted to be near you."

Yao flushed. "O-oh, I see, aru."

Arthur clapped his hands together. "All right, now that everyone's up we should get moving."

The others nodded.

Arthur extended his claws, using them he began to lower himself down the tree. "Come on everyone."

Kiku followed Arthur down, slowly.

Yao was down quickly. "Pandas are good climbers," he announced.

Francis stared at the ground cautiously. He didn't have a knack for climbing, up or down. "Um, wait for me!" Closing his eyes, he jumped to the lowest branch. Once there he wrapped his arms around the trunk and slid down. "It's just like a stripping pole. It's just like a stripping pole. Easy to slide down," he repeated to himself. His ears were flat against his head.

"You can let go now, aru," Yao said.

Francis opened his eyes. The ground was no more than two feet below him. "Ah, perfect. I am amazing."

Back up in the tree, Feliciano was shaking. "Ve! I can't do it! I'll fall!" He held onto Ludwig.

Ludwig sighed. "No you von't. You're part cat. Cats land on their feet."

Feliciano perked up. "Ve~ you're right! But I think I'll just hold onto you until we are back on the ground." Feliciano jumped onto Ludwig's back.

"Oh, all right then." Ludwig sighed. He lowered them out of the tree. "There, we are on the ground now."

Feliciano hopped down. "Ve~ thank you."

Arthur looked around. He noticed only Alfred and Ivan were missing. "Ivan? Come on!" he yelled up to him. "Alfred get down here!"

Alfred swooped down. He circled the tree. "Ah, I don't want to," he said.

Arthur glared up at him, tail flicking in annoyance. "You will come down here now!"

Alfred stuck out his tongue. "No way. You can't get me~"

Arthur narrowed his eyes. "You idiot! Get your arse down here!"

Alfred shook his head and continued to glide around the tree. "Make me! Haha, you can't get-"

Arthur watched with wide eyes as Ivan leaped from hid branch on the tree and land directly on Alfred's back. The sudden add of weight was enough to bring the both of them spiraling to the ground. Arthur winced at the crunching sound from the impact.

"I got him down," Ivan said happily. He stood up, removing himself from Alfred's back.

"Damn you," Alfred muttered. "That hurt…" He stood slowly, testing his wings. "You're lucky nothing broke!" he yelled.

Arthur shook his head. "Let's go already."

The others nodded in agreement. The group began to head off in the direction of the city.

Feliciano skipped slightly ahead of everybody else. He was singing a small tune. "Cat. I'm a kitty cat. And I meow, meow, meow. And I meow, meow, meow. Cat. I'm a kitty cat. And I dance, dance, dance. And I dance, dance, dance. Cat-"

"Vould you please stop singing!" Ludwig shouted. His tail had been swishing back and forth for a good five minutes, now the fur was puffed up in anger.

Feliciano stopped and bowed his head. "Ve~ I'm sorry…" His tail was so low the tip dragged on ground.

Yao elbowed Ludwig. "You didn't have to be so mean, aru!"

The others voiced their agreements.

Kiku placed a hand on Ludwig's shoulder. "You should apologize."

Ludwig sighed, "Oh, fine." He quickened his pace to match Feliciano's. "I'm sorry I yelled at you. Your singing isn't that bad."

Feliciano looked up at him. "Really? Ve~ thanks Ludwig! Your my best friend!" Feliciano jumped on him.

Arthur watched the two happily. _I could get used to this,_ he thought. Arthur thought back to his life before the incident. He was a loner. Never had any friends. In fact, his parents didn't even like him. This was a drastic change. _I guess this isn't all bad. I mean, I can practically smell everything not to mention me hearing is so much better._ Arthur walked on with his new friends.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

The city was very close now. Arthur could smell the scents of the city. He stopped the others before they got too close.

"Ok guys, we can't just waltz into the city looking like this. We need to come up with a plan. Anyone have any ideas?"

Francis raised a hand. "Honhon, we need different outfits. These hospital clothes are so bland! I need style and a hat to cover up these…ears," he gestured to the large set of ears that were drooping to the side of his head.

Arthur nodded. "Your right about needing different outfits. These don't cover enough, not to mention our ears and Alfred…your wings are very noticeable. I think only two of us should go into the city, the ones who can hide their problems the most."

Feliciano stepped forward. "Ve~ I can! I can!"

Arthur nodded. "Ok, who else? I would prefer to stay here."

Ivan smiled. "I can."

Yao shook his head quickly, noticing Feliciano shrink back a little. "I can go, aru." When Ivan looked over at him, Yao added quickly, "In case those hospital guys come back. They need your strength."

Ivan seemed to beam at the praise. "Da, you are correct."

Ludwig stood beside Arthur. "You should try and find the nearest clothing store and then come straight back…vait…vhat about money?"

Kiku looked down. "I have some," he mumbled. Reaching into the side pocket on his hospital shirt he pulled out three twenty dollar bills. "It's not much for all of us but…"

Arthur stared at him. "Where did you get that?"

Kiku shifted uneasily. "I don't approve of this but, when we were running I happened to spot it lying on a desk."

Alfred gave him a hearty pat on the back. "Nice job, bro!"

Yao took the money from Kiku. "Thank you, aru."

Kiku nodded.

Feliciano bounced around Yao. "Let's go! Let's go!"

Ludwig grabbed hold of him. "You need to be back in about two hours. No later."

Arthur faced Yao. "Try and find us something that can hide our problems. Perhaps a large jacket for Alfred, his wings will be an issue. Oh, please don't pick anything too ridiculous."

Yao nodded.

"Lastly, we will be waiting here, in the trees. Just call when you get back."

"We'll be back soon, aru. Come on, Feliciano," Yao said.

Feliciano gave a small squeak and grabbed hold of Yao, leading him towards the city.

Francis called after them. "Don't buy me anything hideous!"


	6. Chapter 5

He was pacing back and forth. The only sound was the _tap, tap, tap_ of his footsteps on the cool tile. Another man stood near the door, he was watching him pace anxiously.

"Listen, sir… I-"

"They escaped."

The employee shifted his feet. "I promise we'll get them back. It won't be hard."

"I trusted you to keep them in that hospital until I picked them up. Now they are loose."

"Sir, I can get them back," the employee said quickly. He was getting nervous.

"No. You can't get them now. I have had them engineered them to kill when threatened to a certain level. I will need to use the mutated experiments."

The employee stiffened. "Sir, those…things aren't even human anymore. They don't follow orders. Hell, they have almost killed other staff members."

"I have ways to break them. I don't want the world to know about them yet…not until I've worked out that rebellious side."

The employee tuned away when his boss waved his hand in dismissal._ Those kids will be ripped apart by those mutants and even if they get away one scratch will change them. Oh lord, what have I done?_

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Feliciano skipped along the sidewalk, Yao just behind him. "Ve~ this is so fun! Where should we go first?"

Yao rushed to catch up with Feliciano. "Feli, you need to calm down, aru. Your tail is moving…people are staring."

Feliciano stopped. "Ve~ sorry." He pulled his makeshift jacket down lower. "So where do we want to go first?"

Yao looked around. The city was rather large, there were so many shops to choose from. Yao spotted what looked like a mall. "There," he pointed to it. "There will be many different places to look at without having to go far, aru."

"Ok!" Feliciano grabbed hold of Yao and dragged him to the entrance.

The doors were slid open, a breathe of cool air greeted them. Inside the mall was big, branching off in three different directions. To the right was a food court, to the left was a walkway leading to different stores, and directly in front was an escalator to the upper level.

Feliciano and Yao decided to go to the second level first. "Ve~ look! Puppies!" Feliciano nearly screamed. He raced into the pet store.

"Wait, aru!" Yao chased after him. The store smelled. Perhaps not too bad to any regular human but to Yao it was almost unbearable. "Ugh, Feliciano get over here, aru."

Feliciano had a hand clamped over his nose. "Ve~ I want to see the puppies first. Please."

Yao sighed. "Fine, but hurry, aru."

Feliciano gave a squeak of excitement. He hurried to the back of the store where the kennels were. There were multiple people, mostly children, looking at the puppies. The moment Feliciano came into view of the puppies they immediately started barking in his direction. Some scratched against the glass baring their small teeth.

The store owner brought out an older dog at that moment. The dog's tail was happily wagging one moment but when it sniffed and looked at Feliciano, its tail dropped and the fur along its spine bristled. The dog growled and pulled at its leash.

Yao felt his ear twitch, he pressed them tightly down on his head. "Let's go, Feli."

Feliciano stared back at the dog, his eyes narrowed. His ears, though pressed against his head, seemed to draw back.

Yao grabbed hold of his arm trying to pull him out of the store. "Come on, aru."

The dog started barking. The owner started to pull him back into the office.

Feliciano crouched slightly. His hair was spiking out in the back. Though he tried to hold it back, Feliciano's lips drew back and he hissed.

"Shit," Yao muttered.

A little girl stared up at the two. She pulled on her mother's shirt. "Mamma, why did the boy do that? He doesn't like the big doggie."

Yao managed to tug Feliciano out of the store before the woman could question them. Once safely outside the store, Yao pulled him to the side. "Look, you can't do that, aru. It's not normal."

Feliciano looked at the ground sadly. "Ve~ I'm sorry. I didn't do it on purpose."

Yao gave him a sympathetic look. "Why don't we look for some clothes? The others are waiting, aru."

The two of them made their way to the first clothing store they ran into. Inside they found the men's section. Feliciano picked out his outfit first. He grabbed the items off the racks and went into a changing room.

Yao sat just outside, waiting. He didn't find any of the clothes appealing and decided to look somewhere else.

Feliciano came out a few minutes later with a big grin. "Ve~ what do you think?"

Yao stared for a moment then nodded. "That looks great."

Feliciano was dressed in a plain white shirt. Over it was a light blue jacket with an Italian flag on the sleeve. He also had large baggy blue sweat pants. He picked out a pair of black vans for his shoes. To complete his outfit was a furry hat with to cat ears. He had clawed out the fabric in the ears so his own two would fit.

Yao called over one of the clerks. "Can we just buy this now, aru?"

The clerk looked confused. "Um, sure. Just come with me to the register."

Yao handed the clerk the money and she pulled off the security tag.

"Thank you for shopping with us today. Come back soon."

Yao and Feliciano left the store, deeming the other clothes not suitable for anyone else in their group.

"I need to find an outfit next, aru. People keep looking at me in this…" Yao pulled down on his hospital wear. Thankfully the pants were long enough to cover his bare feet.

Feliciano looked happy to be able to uncurl his tail slightly. "Ve~ why don't we go there?" he asked, pointing to a anime store. There were multiple kimonos and other such clothing hanging in the front window.

Yao smiled a bit. "All right, aru. Let's see what we got here."

Ten minutes later, Yao was walking out of the store wearing long white and red robe. Over that was a silky, thin black kimono with red patterns. He wore black vans with a white dragon decorating the sides. Like Feliciano, Yao had also picked a hat with ears, his however, was grey with black and white ears.

Yao had also picked out Kiku's outfit while in the store. He had chosen a long black kimono with white outlining. For shoes he picked were black and white vans. They needed shoes that were easy to run in and sandals aren't very fast. For a hat he picked a black fox-eared hat with white tips. He had Feliciano claw out the fabric inside the ears.

Feliciano continued to skip around the mall. His eyes were darting this way and that at the different shops. He paused outside a military store. "Ve~ Ludwig would like this stuff!"

Yao decided to wait outside while Feliciano picked Ludwig's outfit. He watched people pass him by, enjoying their day. Something strange began to settle in Yao's heart. He was envious of these people. They simply walked on with their lives normally, like nothing could be more perfect.

Yao began to think. He didn't really even know these teenagers her was paling around with. He didn't know what happened to him to obtain these…changes. Hell, he didn't even know where his family was or how long he was in the hospital. Yao suddenly realized so many questions remained unanswered. His anger and envy toward the normal people began to increase.

At that moment Feliciano came rushing out of the store with a bag. "Ve~ want to look at the-" He stopped when he saw an unhappy expression on Yao's face. "What's the matter?"

Yao shook his head. "Oh, sorry. I was spacing, aru. What did you buy for Ludwig?"

Feliciano's smile reappeared. "Ve~ I got him this green button up jacket with a black undershirt. Some green puffy pants for his tail and black combat boots! Oh, and a big green hat with a cool looking metal symbol!" Feliciano opened the bag, showing off the items.

Yao found Arthur's outfit in another store. He picked out a grey shirt, black jacket, brown pants, vans with a Union Jack flag on them, and a large cap to match. Feliciano had insisted on a leather belt with a chain, he proclaimed it looked cool.

Feliciano decided to look for Francis's clothes next. He decided on a very tight, very revealing male bunny suit. It looked suited to someone in a strip joint or casino. Yao had objected to the outfit at first but Feliciano said Francis wanted something flashy. Yao had to admit that this would catch the eye. The suit was actually three separate pieces, top, black top hat with ear holes which would fit Francis's perfectly, and bottoms. Feliciano grabbed a pair of black shoes from a tuxedo outfit.

Yao was rather embarrassed carrying around all of the bags. Many people would cast amused glances in their direction. Suddenly a large grey coat caught his eye. Handing the bags to Feliciano, Yao went into the winter themed store. The coat was enormous. Though it was much too large for Yao, he knew it would fit Ivan pretty well. Beside it was a fluffy hat for using in the snow. Yao noticed that cash was getting low, just enough for this and something for Alfred.

On his way to the checkout counter Yao saw another piece of clothing that happened to catch his eye. Yao quickly grabbed hold of it and paid, he shoved the cloth down to the bottom of the bag.

Feliciano was holding another bag when Yao exited the store.

"Ve~ I found something for Alfred! He will like this!" He held up a big brown bomber jacket. It was leather and there was a big white 50 on the back. For pants, Feliciano had picked black sweats, shoes were combat boots, and finally a brown pilot's cap.

Yao smiled again. "That should be everything, aru. Let's head back to the others."

**0-0-0-0-0-**

Feliciano and Yao could see the edge of the trees. They walked happily holding their multiple bags.

Suddenly Feliciano stopped. His eyes widened and he moved toward Yao. "Ve! I can smell someone!"

Yao raised an eyebrow. "There are loads of people in the city, Feli, aru."

Feliciano shook his head quickly. "No! This is something else. They smell like we do! Like a human and animal."

Yao stopped. He looked around, there wasn't anyone nearby. "Are you sure, aru?"

Feliciano never got a chance to reply. A shape dropped out of the nearby tree landing directly on Yao's back.

He fell to the ground, dropping his bags. Yao struggled to free himself. He felt claws prick his neck and a white tail with black stripes swished into view. Yao managed to flip himself over so he was facing his attacker. The last thing he saw was a pair of glowing red eyes before a clawed hand descended on his head.


	7. Chapter 6

Feliciano stumbled backward, tripping over his tail. "Ve! S-stop!" He quickly stood and rushed over to Yao. Summoning up all his courage, Feliciano shoved off the boy off of Yao. He shook Yao's shoulders. "Ve! Wake up, wake up!" A thin trail of blood was coming from the wound on the side of his head.

A hiss from behind drew Feliciano's attention back to their attacker. He was a little shorter than Ludwig_, (A/N: I looked at some pictures of the two together and some portrayed him a taller and some shorter.) _with white hair and glowing red eyes. The thing that caught Feliciano's attention, however, was the tail and ears. They were white with black stripes. "Ve~ please don't hurt us. Please, please, please! Why are you attacking us?"

The boy stopped. He stared at Feliciano for a moment, his eyes sizing him down. "I guess you're not a threat. I can take you out easily, but I'm awesome so it's not that impressive. Name's Gilbert by the way. You should know." Gilbert puffed out his chest proudly.

Feliciano's head tilted to the side. "Ve~ but why did you attack us. We weren't hurting you."

Gilbert shrugged. "I am still trying to figure out these," he pointed to his tail and ears. "I'm just lucky nobody walks around over here. I have been hiding in that tree for a while."

"Ve~ why don't you come with us? We all have stuff like that too," He took off his hat to display his own cat ears. "There are a bunch of us! It'll be fun."

Gilbert looked thoughtful for a moment. "Hmm, well I guess it would be nice to be with other people." He nodded happily. "In fact I'll carry your friend there because the awesome me feels bad. I didn't scratch too deep so he should be fine." He picked up Yao and waited for Feliciano to gather the many bags that were dropped. "Lead the way."

Feliciano led Gilbert back to where they said they would meet the others. "Ve~ this is where we are supposed to wait," he said.

Gilbert looked around. "Why here? The city is just over there and I think they have an awesome hotel."

Feliciano shrugged. "Ve~ we went out to get some clothes so we could go into the city. Everyone was only wearing hospital stuff."

"Really? I just got out of a hospital. Not far from here actually. I just took some clothes from some store. Ha, police couldn't catch the awesome me. What's your name's by the way?"

"Ve~ I'm Feliciano, call me Feli. And this is Yao."

"Oh great."

The two of them looked up at the sound of the voice.

"Ve~ hi, Ludwig." Feliciano waved to him frantically.

Gilbert set Yao on the ground. His eyes began to widen. "L-Ludwig?"

"Hello bruder." Ludwig jumped down to the ground. He noticed Gilbert's tail. "You too."

Gilbert rushed over to Ludwig and wrapped his arms around him. "I was looking for you everywhere! Ever since I woke up in that hospital."

Ludwig pushed him off. "I get it." He turned back to Feliciano. "Vhat happened to Yao?"

"That brute jumped on me, aru." Yao sat up. He rubbed the mark on the side of his head. "So rude."

Gilbert gave him a sheepish smile. "Sorry about that."

Ludwig sighed. "Vell, let's get back to the others. I was here to keep vatch for you." Ludwig led the three of them deeper into the trees."

"Ve~ what's that noise?" Feliciano asked. He could hear a distant roar.

"Right, ve found a river. After following it, Francis happened to point out a small waterfall. Then ve just decided to stay near there."

Yao reached into one of the bags he had picked up. "You can change into these before we get there, aru." He handed Ludwig his clothes.

"Thank you. I vill change over there. Vait for me here." Ludwig left the three of them standing there.

Gilbert leaned back against one of the trees. I didn't know Ludwig was with you guys. I was worried about him. He gets lost sometimes."

Yao chuckled. "I didn't know Ludwig had a brother, aru."

Gilbert nodded. "Yep, I am awesomer, though he comes close behind in awesomeness."

"Ve~ why do you call yourself awesome?"

Gilberts stiffened. "Why would I not call myself awesome? I am the definition of awesome! There would be no awesome without me. So it is impossible not to call me awesome."

Feliciano looked confused but nodded anyway. "Ve~ if you say so."

Ludwig walked back wearing his new outfit. He had a ghost of a smile on his face. "I like it."

Feliciano clapped. "Ve~ I knew you would. Yay!"

Ludwig began to lead them again. "There they are…"

The others were all sitting by the river. Kiku was having a conversation with Ivan, who seemed to be actually listening. Alfred and Arthur where sitting with their legs in the water. Lastly, Francis had taken off his shirt and was lounging in the sun.

Once they got closer, Arthur turned toward them. "You guys were gone for a long time. Everything…" He trailed off, his eyes wandered over to Gilbert. "Who is this?" His tail tip was flicking nervously.

Ludwig nodded to Gilbert. "This is my bruder, Gilbert."

Gilbert waved to the others. "Nice to meet you guys."

By now everyone was gathering together. Arthur shook Gilbert's hand. "Pleasure. My name is Arthur."

"I'm Alfred. The hero!" Alfred stretched out his wings.

Gilbert laughed. "That is awesome. Wish I had wings."

Francis introduced himself next. "Hello, Gilbert. My name is Francis." He winked at Gilbert.

For some reason Gilbert didn't shy away or give a disgusted look, he simply pat Francis on the back. "I have a feeling we are going to be awesome friends."

"Nice to meet you, Gilbert." Kiku came forward and bowed.

"Loosen up," Gilbert said. He vigorously shook Kiku's hand.

Last but not least was Ivan. "Hi." He smiled at Gilbert.

"Hi." Gilbert tried to keep a straight face but broke out laughing. "Bear huh? That's cool."

Feliciano held up some of the bags he was holding. "Ve~ you can all get your stuff now. Yao and I picked out some really nice things."

Everyone went up to grab their bags. Yao pulled Ivan aside while the others went off to change.

"Is there something you need, Yao?" Ivan asked him.

Yao reached into the bag he brought with him. "Well, here is your outfit, aru."

Ivan took out the large coat. He smiled. "I like it." He started to turn away but Yao grabbed his shoulder.

"I got this because…I thought it would suit you, aru." Yao closed his eyes and pushed the scarf from the bag into Ivan's hands. His face was a light shade of red.

Ivan looked down at the scarf. He felt some of the ice inside him melt. "This is nice. Thank you." Ivan pulled Yao close for a literal bear hug. "I better go put these on. See you later little panda." He gently tugged on one of Yao's ears.

Yao felt heat rush of heat in his cheeks. "Ah, bye then, aru." He shuffled away from Ivan. He went back to the others who had already changed. They all looked pleased, especially Francis.

"I look magnificent. Completely amazing." He was showing off to the others.

To Yao they all looked completely normal. Even Alfred, his jacket was big enough to hide his wings. Wearing this, they were like any normal teenagers on the street.

Arthur called everyone together. "Now that we don't look abnormal, I purpose we get food and then…well, I want to find my family and figure out where the bloody hell I am and what happened to me."

The others agreed. Some looked a little reluctant however.

"What about a hotel? Do you guys just sleep out here?" Gilbert asked.

Arthur nodded. "I think it would be safer to stay out here. It's not cold out so we should be fine."

"Ve~ I want some pasta."

Arthur shook his head. "We need to find something easy to get. Did you see any food stands?"

"There were some by the mall, aru."

Arthur sighed. "We don't have any money so we'll have to…just take it."

Alfred gasped. "Steal! A hero doesn't steal!"

"Would you rather starve?" Arthur growled.

Alfred looked at the ground. "I still don't like it."

"I can steal you guys some food. I was good at that before this happened anyway," Gilbert said.

Ludwig elbowed him. "Don't go saying that to people like your proud of it."

"I can go with him," said Kiku, to everyone's surprise. "To help carry some of the food," he put in quickly.

Arthur nodded. "You guys go and get whatever you can."

Gilbert and Kiku left, promising to be back with all the food they could carry.

"I think everyone should split into groups so we can get all of this stuff done before nightfall." Arthur looked at them.

"Francis and I can go look for fruit and such, aru." Yao looked over at Ivan. "You should be able to tell if anything is poisonous."

Francis's ear twitched. "Of course."

"All right. You two go look around, but be careful. Those hospital guys could still be around." Arthur sent them off.

"I will go look for firewood. We be needing it if we are sleeping out here," Ivan said. He went off in the opposite direction of Yao and Francis.

Ludwig and Feliciano began to follow him. "We vill go and help him."

"Ve~ I can be helpful too!"

Arthur looked around, happy with himself.

"What about me?"

Arthur then noticed that Alfred was still without a job. "Well, you can come with me. I want to scope out the area. Make sure it's safe."

"Sounds like fun," Alfred said. "I'll kick the bad guy's ass if they try to hurt us."

Arthur sighed, "Yes, yes. Come on then."

They walked off in the same direction as Ivan, veering off to the right soon after. The grass here was taller. Little conversation passed between the two. Alfred did point out the lack of trees.

"You know what?" Alfred nudged Arthur.

"What?"

"I haven't seen or heard an animal since we left the tree line."

Arthur noted the uneasiness in his voice. "And?"

"Well, before this all started my dad used to go hunting and he would tell me about it. He said animals stopped coming around certain places when the hunters had been there long enough."

Arthur paused. "I don't smell any humans."

Alfred nodded. "That's true but just because there aren't any humans doesn't mean-" A loud click cut Alfred off. Suddenly a net was around him. "AH!" He fell.

Arthur was at his side in an instant. "Oh God. Oh God." He pulled on the net and drew back quickly. "It's sharp."

Alfred began to twist around. "Help me, Arthur!" Small cut were appearing on Alfred.

Arthur growled and pulled on the net again. "Shite."

Alfred's panic was rising. "I don't like this, get it off!" He started to spread out his wings.

"No! Don't do that!" Arthur said quickly. "The net will cut them up too. Hold still and it won't cut you."

Arthur stood up and looked around. Sniffing the air he could pick up Ivan's scent. "Ivan! Ivan!" He raised his voice as loud as he could.

Arthur moved more toward the scent. "IVAN!"

Alfred followed his movements. "No, don't wander around! There are probably more traps!"

Arthur didn't acknowledge him. He moved backward stepping into a large patch of grass.

"No, get out of there! That's where the-"

Arthur heard the warning to late, stepping back onto an old looking bear trap. It's reaction was immediate, snapping shut.

Arthur screeched. He looked down at his trapped leg. Blood was starting to pool around the wound. His hands were shaking as he tried to pry the trap open. "I-it won't open!" Despite himself tears started to swell in his eyes.

Alfred struggled in the net. "Oh fuck, Arthur! Hold on, I' m coming." Alfred pushed up on the net, he felt it cutting into his back.

"No, don't you move." Arthur managed to get it open slightly. He stiffened. "Oh no." He smelt something, it was coming toward them fast. What frightened him was that it smelled like them but it was as if it had some sort of disease.

Alfred saw it first. A large black shape was bounding toward them on all fours. He could see blood dripping from its lips. Its eyes were grey and had bloodlust in them. Alfred managed to pull himself back. He could see that its body had multiple lacerations and holes, showing off grotesque muscles and tendons underneath its skin.

"What the hell is that?"

Arthur couldn't see it. The grass around him was too high. "W-what?"

Alfred felt his blood go cold. "It's coming right at us!" Instincts took over and he tried to flap his wings. The net, doing its job, began to tear at them.

"Stop that you idiot!" Arthur said. He was losing feeling in his leg. Arthur dragged himself the little ways he could toward Alfred. "I'll get you out." Using his claws, he started to cut through the netting.

"Hurry, it's getting closer!" Alfred said.

Arthur managed cut through it. "I got it, go!"

Alfred pulled the net off of him. "Hold on, I'll get you."

Arthur spotted the shape coming at them. "No, go on"

Alfred smirked. "I told you I'm a hero. Hero's don't leave their friends behind."

Arthur wiped away the tears running down his cheeks. "Damn you, go. Please just go!"

The figure stopped running and stood up on its back legs. It was easily taller than Alfred, probably heavier too. It let out a ghostly howl before descending on Arthur. It smelled the blood from him.

"Damn!"

Alfred jumped up and planted both of his hands on the things chest. Flapping his damaged wings, he shoved the thing away. It jumped backwards, away from Alfred.

Alfred planted himself between Arthur and the beast. "Come at me bro."

It seemed to understand. Letting out another howl from its wet throat, it ran full speed at Alfred.

"Try me." Alfred ran at the beast. He leaped up, flapping his damaged wings.

It however anticipated this and leaped up as well. Alfred didn't have time to dodge and it hit him.

Arthur felt blood splatter on his face. Then a dull thud as the two shaped fell, only one getting up.


	8. Chapter 7

Arthur tried to shuffle back. The beast was slowly getting to its feet. "A-Alfred? Hey!" He looked at the still shape of his friend.

Alfred's eyes were shut tight. The grass below him was turning the same horrible color as the wound on his neck. His wings were missing multiple feathers, which were scattered around him.

Arthur stared, his eyes wide. The beast was bleeding as well, though its wound was not nearly as fatal. Arthur growled at it. His ears drawn back, tail fluffed out.

The beast seemed to smirk. Its mouth peeled back, skin hanging loosely from opening it too wide. It took another step forward.

Arthur tugged on the trap holding him in place. _HISS_, the noise escaped his throat before he could stop it.

Taking one more step, the beast crouched and leaped at Arthur.

Arthur closed his eyes. He waited. After not feeling the heavy weight, Arthur cracked open an eye.

The beast was on the ground, blood pooling from it stomach. Intestines, or what might have once been intestines, were hanging out to a point where it almost touched the ground.

"Bloody hell?" Arthur peered behind its body. Ivan was standing there. He looked surprised to see Arthur.

"Arthur? What are you doing here?" Ivan moved around its body. "Oh, I see." He knelt down next to him. "Bear trap." His eyes narrowed in anger.

"Can you get me out now?" Arthur was certain that his bone was cracking in half.

"Da," Ivan said. He wrapped his hands around the metal trap. After giving a hearty tug, the trap snapped open again.

Arthur wasted no time in scrambling over to Alfred's side.

Ivan kicked the broken metal away. Horror flashed in eyes at all the blood coming from Alfred's wound. "I'll get Ludwig and Feliciano," he said before hurrying back toward the forest.

"Hurry!" Arthur called after him. Returning his attention to Alfred, Arthur pulled off his shirt. He shoved the fabric to Alfred's neck. "You idiot! You idiot! You idiot! I swear if you die I will…I will follow you to hell and kill you myself." Arthur pressed it down harder. The blood continued to flow.

"Arthur! Alfred!"

Arthur turned toward the voice. He saw Ludwig and Ivan coming, Feliciano wasn't with them. "O-over here!" Arthur said as loud as his strained voice could.

Ludwig picked up his pace and stopped beside Arthur. He knelt down next to Alfred. "This is very bad. He needs a hospital."

Arthur looked back at him with wide eyes. "No. We can't go there. What do you think those people will say? I don't want to chance it. Now, where is Feliciano?"

Ludwig sighed. "I sent him to go and get everyone else. If you don't vant to take him to a hospital then you better hope one of the others can heal him." Ludwig offered him a hand. "Come on. I'll help you back, vith that leg you're not going anywhere." His tail was lower than Arthur had ever seen it.

Arthur looked at Ludwig's hand and then back to Alfred.

Ivan knelt down and picked up Alfred. "I'll get him. Do not worry." Ivan held him with care, trying not to flinch at the blood dripping on him.

Arthur nodded slowly and let Ludwig help him up. He cried out when he put weight on his injured leg. "Shite," he mumbled. As they began to make their way back into the trees, Arthur had to try hard not to stare over at Alfred.

His wings were hanging limply from his back. The smile that Arthur had grown accustomed to seeing was gone. His eyes were shut tight. But, perhaps the thing that frightened him the most was the fact that Alfred wasn't making any noise. Blood was still dripping from the wound, it had lightened thankfully.

Once they had reached their meeting place in the forest, Arthur and Alfred were set down in some soft grass. Feliciano was just returning with some of the others.

"Holy- what the hell happened to you two?" Gilbert asked. He was kneeling next to Alfred with a concerned expression.

Feliciano was shaking behind Ludwig. "Ve…I hope they'll be ok."

Arthur laid back. "We were attacked by something. And Alfred…" He shook his head. He turned over and his eyes met Francis's. "What?"

Francis seemed a little embarrassed. "I can help him. I had medical training before all of this. I never thought it would come in handy but… I guess I was wrong."

Arthur felt relief spread throughout his body. "Really? Then get to it." He shifted out of the way so Francis could work.

Francis carefully moved Alfred's head, exposing the wound more. He examined the cut and then looked around. "I need…" He quickly stood and reached into a bush, pulling out a large leaf. "Perfect." Francis walked, er, sort of bounced back to Alfred's side.

He sat down and pushed began to chew at parts of the leaf. After Francis had carefully shaped it the way he wanted, he pressed it around Alfred's wound.

The others watched with interested eyes. They didn't really think Francis had any sort of skill. This was sure a big surprise.

Francis pulled some of the grass from beside him. With skilled hands, he weaved the many strands together. He tied the makeshift bandage securely around Alfred's neck. "That iz all I can do for now." He looked sadly down at Alfred. "I need to get that closed or else he may lose too much blood. Not to mention how much bacteria could get in the open wound. With the bird DNA inside him it will either repel some diseases or attract more. I don't know."

Arthur stared at his friend. That's when a thought crossed his mind. _Why do I care so much? I guess it's normal to be worried if someone gets hurt like this but…_ Arthur rubbed a hand over his face.

"Now it iz your turn," Francis said turning to Arthur. He leaned near Arthur's leg wound and sniffed. "Hmm, no sign of infection. Lucky. But that smell might attract unwanted attention." Francis drew back. "I don't think the bone is completely broken, perhaps just cracked. I can fix this with some herbs and leaves. I knew being part rabbit would be useful. "

Gilbert offered to go and collect the needed plants. "I can defend myself against anything that attacks me." He slid out his claws. "I am a pretty bad ass tiger. No one will screw with me."

Feliciano tagged along, he claimed the smell of blood was making him sick.

"I'll keep watch," Ivan said. He and Ludwig sat on a nearby log. His eyes shifting every time he thought he heard something.

Kiku and Yao had returned shortly after. They had been filled in on the events that had occurred.

"I knew something smelled off," Kiku said. "There was a foul stench in the air but I thought it was from the city."

"I was up in the trees. I didn't see anything, "Yao added. "You two need to be more careful."

"Do you have any idea what it was that attacked you?" Kiku asked.

Arthur shook his head. "It was like us, the DNA mixed…but something was just horribly wrong with it." Arthur shivered at the memory. "I must say, it really did give me a fright. And obviously it was strong enough to bring down Alfred."

Kiku and Yao gave him a confused look.

"He tried to fight it but… it was too strong. I should have been able to help! Damn it all." Arthur dug his claws into the ground.

Kiku gave him a comforting pat on the back. "There is nothing you could have done, you were trapped."

Arthur nodded. He looked over to Alfred, his eyes glazing over. _I wasn't strong enough. _

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Somewhere not so far away, a certain scientist was smiling into the reciever of his cell phone.


	9. Chapter 8

_Alright. So I didn't notice this before but I had accidentally uploaded two chapters twice. Thanks to the person who pointed that out, here is the chapter I didn't get up._

* * *

Arthur woke with a start, his ankle aching. He was still lying on the grass next to Alfred. It was dark now, the stars shining brightly overhead. Arthur felt a shiver run down his back. He wrapped his tail tighter around himself and looked around. He was surprised to see everyone was sleeping soundly nearby.

Gilbert and Ludwig were asleep with their backs pressed against a large tree, though they didn't seem to be awake, Arthur could sense the two of them were on edge. Ivan was on the other side of the clearing, one arm draped over Yao.

Arthur chuckled slightly at that. _Guess everyone's getting comfortable with one another._

Kiku was resting off to the side, his ears and tail twitching every so often. His face would sometimes take on a look of distress before settling back down. Francis had his ears pulled down over his head; he was the only one who looked content. That left…

Arthur looked around, suddenly wide awake. Using a tree for support, he stood up. "Feliciano," he whispered. "Where are you?"

"Ve~ hi Arthur. Why are you awake? I can keep watch for a little while longer."

Arthur jumped. His ears quickly pinpointing the direction of the sound, he looked up. A pair of neon eyes stared back. "Feliciano? Your eyes."

Feliciano grinned. "Ve~ I know! It's so neat. They glow and stuff." He swung gracefully down from the branch he had been positioned on, landing silently beside Arthur. "Your eyes do it to," he chirped.

Arthur realized that he could, in fact, see very clearly in the dark. "Hmm, that could be useful later. Anyway did Francis say how Alfred was doing?"

Feliciano's smile faltered. "Ve~ he said Alfred would be all right for now. After you fell asleep, Ludwig went back into the town and picked up some things. Francis managed to fix him."

Arthur sighed in relief and let himself slide back to the ground. "We can't live out here forever you know. Our families are still out there and there are lives some of us need to get back too."

Feliciano sat down next to him. "Ve~ b-but… if we all go home then, then everyone will separate. I really like you guys too and I don't want…" He sniffled sadly, his gaze meeting Arthur's.

Arthur looked away. "I, well, I've grown fond of you guys as well. But we can't just forget our other lives. I'm sure some of the others want to go home as well. Not to mention that we need to fix our unfortunate problem."

Feliciano ran a hand along his tail. "I don't think it's so bad. Maybe we can just work something out. W-what if our parents don't even want us anymore." His voice hitched.

Arthur shook his head. "Of course they would. They are your parents after all. They love you no matter what." Arthur almost laughed at that. _What am I saying? I don't know how anyone will react to this. Parents or not, they're still only human._

Feliciano looked at the ground again. "Ve~ I guess so. I better go keep watch again or Ludwig will get all fussy." He stood and climbed expertly back up the tree.

Arthur turned away and came face-to-face with Alfred. Shuffling back a few feet, Arthur growled at him. "Don't do that you git!"

Alfred smiled back at Arthur. "Good to see you're still you." He sat up slowly. "Ouch." Alfred winced slightly.

Arthur moved back toward him. "Don't move so quickly, idiot. You're still not in good shape."

Alfred stretched out his wings, stopping halfway. Some feathers floated gently to the ground. Alfred hesitantly flapped them. His face contorted in pain and he curled his wings back together. "Well, I guess that's not a good sign."

Arthur shook his head. "No. That thing did some damage. Are you all right?"

Alfred smiled smuggly back at Arthur. "I'm just peachy."

"Cheeky bastard." Arthur flicked him with his tail.

Alfred laughed. "So, what are we going to do tomorrow? I don't mind just hanging around here."

Arthur didn't reply just stared back up at the stars. "Get some sleep. We can discuss this in the morning."

Alfred shrugged. "Sure thing," he replied. Using his wings like blankets, Alfred drifted back off.

Arthur lay down next to him. He felt their backs brush. Face warming slightly, Arthur closed his eyes. It took only moments before darkness enveloped him.

**~Time Skip~**

It was midday. Their odd group was now traveling throughout the city. Their new abilities giving them a whole new perspective. Arthur and Alfred had deemed themselves well enough to walk., with some difficulty, but walk nonetheless.

Almost within three minutes of the walk, Ivan and Yao had broken off to explore a cute little anime shop. They agreed to meet up with the others later.

"I can't believe people just walk around here with all the noise," Francis complained, he was holding down the hat that hid his large ears.

Arthur elbowed him. "Shut up. I was just starting to enjoy myself."

"Ah, why do you hate me so?" Francis whined.

Arthur's eyes narrowed. "Because you happen to be two things I can't stand."

Francis raised an eyebrow.

"French and full of yourself." Arthur raised his nose to the air.

Francis sniggered. "I think you're just mad because I get to be a sexy bunny while you're stuck with a lion whose eyebrows are mutated."

Arthur stopped dead in his tracks and spun around. His eyes were blazing. "That is a rather bold assumption. You are right about one thing, however. I am a lion and you are a rabbit. Did you know that I wouldn't mind a rabbit for lunch?"

Francis shrieked and hid behind Gilbert. "What a brute you are!"

Kiku walked ahead of the group, falling in-step with Alfred. "Excuse me, but, I was wondering where we are going?"

Alfred gave him a sideways glance. "I was going to try and just look around town for a bit. Who knows what we could find."

Ludwig's gruff voice caught everyone's attention. "Vhat is this…" Ludwig was standing away from the group, looking at something taped to one of the light posts.

Gilbert strolled over to his brother and looked at what caught his attention. He stared open-mouthed at it. Then his gaze traveled to Kiku.

Arthur pushed past the brothers to get a look at what was causing the commotion. His eyes widened.

There on the post, was a _Missing Person_ sign. On the sign was a faded picture of Kiku. The date on the sign read back months and months before.

"Oh my…" Kiku stared at the sign in wonder. "I… we, must have been missing for a long time."

A shadow fell across the group. They turned quickly, senses alert. A man stood there, he was older by the look of him. His eyes were sunken in and red, as though he had been crying. "I was just coming to take that down," he said with a hard voice.

Ludwig leveled his gaze. "But this is a poster for a missing person. You can't just take it down."

The man looked back at Ludwig, expression blank. "It wouldn't matter. That kid is probably not alive anymore. Even if he was…there ain't no one to go back too."

Kiku had moved behind Alfred, using the taller teen for cover.

Feliciano skipped over to the man. "Ve~ what do you mean, mister?"

Reaching around Ludwig, the man yanked the sign off the post. "Kid's parents aren't with us anymore. They were killed by something, police think it was some sort of animal. I don't believe a word of it. All I know is that they were buried two days ago." He turned away without another word and started off in the other direction.

Kiku stiffened behind Alfred. His eyes flashed with a deep sadness which he quickly covered up.

Alfred put a hand on his shoulder. "Kiku I-"

Kiku pushed his hand away. He shook his head quickly. "This…this can't," he started. He could feel tears swelling behind his eyes and with everyone watching, Kiku could feel his stress level rising. Backing away slowly, he turned and took off down the sidewalk.

"Ve! Kiku!" Feliciano shouted, giving chase. They turned a corner and out of sight.

"Everyone we have to go after them," Gilbert shouted. The others nodded in agreement.

Ahead of the group, Kiku continued to run. Tears were streaming down his face. His brain denying everything the man had told them. His family was fine. Everything would be fine. Without realizing it, Kiku found himself slowing down, coming to a dead end.

Feliciano managed to catch up with his friend just in time. "Ve! Kiku please stop running!" He crashed into the other and wrapped his arms around him.

Kiku stood stone still. He heard Feliciano's broken sobs behind him. A wave of guilt hit him. Feliciano was so worried about him, his other friends probably were too, and all he had done was run away.

"I-I k-know that y-you have every right," he paused to catch his breath. "T-to be sad. But running away c-can't help."

Kiku nodded slowly, still taking in the information. Before he could respond he heard someone enter the alley they were in. Feliciano, having heard it too, looked up.

There, standing at the edge of the alley was a sickening familiar white lab coat. The man standing there had a smirk on his face. Behind him were five other men and woman.

"Looks like I've got you now. The last two."

Feliciano screamed and hid behind Kiku. "VE! Ludwig help meeee!"

"Oh, don't worry little kitten. You will be joining your other friends soon."


	10. Chapter 9

Feliciano let out a terrified wail and hid behind Kiku, his tail bloomed out to seem twice its normal size. He whimpered and hissed on impulse, though whatever intimidation as lost on the fact he was cowering behind Kiku.

Kiku narrowed his eyes, ears flat against his head. He muttered something that was incoherent before glaring back at the people. They were outnumbered obviously, and chances of winning a fight or getting away unscathed were slim.

"As I was saying," the man continued. "You two will need to come with us. We can help out your problem and even give you a pace to stay if you'd like. "

Kiku shook his head almost immediately. Even someone like Francis could sniff out the lie from this guy. Kiku was having none of it. "I don't think we will be going," he started slowly.

Feliciano whimpered. "V-ve…where is scary Ludwig when I n-need him..."

Kiku agreed. Where were the others? Surely they could smell Feliciano's fear scent. Kiku sure did, wrinkling his nose slightly at the arid smell. "Where are our friends," he asked.

The man smirked. "Oh, they are perfectly safe for now. I already had a few of my men pick them up. They're safe and sound, I promise you." There was a dark edge to his voice. "Such perfect specimens, now we only need to splice you all up a little more."

Kiku and Feliciano both froze. The way he had said that could mean nothing but big trouble and now the others were caught up in it.

"K-Kiku," Feliciano whispered. "I think we might be able to run away if we just…," he had trailed off, gesturing frantically to the multiple clothes lines above.

Kiku glanced up briefly, not wanting to give it away. They looked climbable…for a cat. Kiku knew he wasn't as good a climber as Feliciano, not by a long shot.

Growing impatient now, the scientist ordered his men to 'capture and restrain' them. "Use any means necessary to get them," he raised his voice.

Following his order, the henchmen started stalking forward, most holding a metal catch pole; usually use to restrain dogs or even cats. This sight of these made Feliciano and Kiku's tale bristle up.

Feliciano quickly, using his cat-like reflexes, jumped up for the nearest clothes line. He gripped it, the thing wire nearly giving out with his added weight. He moved fast to get to the next so Kiku could start climbing. "H-hurry!"

Unlike Feliciano, Kiku had a much harder time even reaching the first line and by the time he did the henchmen were upon him. One reached up, managing to grab hold of his tail, giving it a harsh tug. Kiku growled, keeping hold and trying to shake the person from his tail. Above, Feliciano was yelling terrified words to him.

The man who had hold of his tail used his catch pole. Reaching up, he looped the collar-like part of it around Kiku's neck.

"Ah!" Kiku couldn't hold back the noise of surprise as it was looped around his neck. He squirmed in discomfort, using one hand to try and pull it off. It seemed the more he struggled, the tighter the thing got. Losing his hold, Kiku felt fear bloom in his chest as he lost his grip on the clothes line.

Feliciano wailed, vainly reaching down to try and catch him. He couldn't reach. "K-Kiku!" He moved down a little more, terrified but still wanting to get to his friend.

Kiku groaned in pain. After he had lost his grip, the man hadn't bothered to catch him letting his head slam sickeningly against the concrete. Stars danced in Kiku's vision. He was at least thankful to still be awake but the wetness he felt on the back of his head was truly worrisome.

The henchmen loomed over him, grinning. He yanked Kiku up harshly, nearly choking the teen.

Kiku was vaguely aware of the others trying to get at Feliciano who was still screaming. On instinct, Kiku lunge at the nearest enemy, happening to be one of the females, and sunk his canines deep into her arm.

She screeched in surprise and pain, trying to pull her arm away. "Get this freak off of me!" She shrieked at the man holding onto Kiku's catch pole.

Kiku felt the pressure on his neck increase but he didn't release her arm. The taste of her blood was sickening to him. He looked up and met her eyes, watching as she raised her fist. Kiku closed his eyes, waiting for the direct blow to his already throbbing head.

The pain, however, never came. Instead there was a feral sounding growl and the pressure on Kiku's neck vanished. At first he assumed Feliciano has rescued him, though for some reason he couldn't really believe that. After managing to open his eyes, Kiku came face-to-face with a very startled looking Yao.

"What is going on, aru?!" He looked frantic, already working to get the wire around Kiku's neck off.

"This is most inconvenient. I was just starting to enjoy my day with the cute little panda." Ivan was standing between them and the other henchmen. The one who had been holding onto Kiku, as well as the female, were both slumped against the far wall of the alley.

Yao spluttered at the pet name but didn't object finding it not the appropriate time to do so.

"I am very glad to see you two," Kiku choked out. He rubbed his neck and looked up to see if Feliciano was ok. Thankfully the Italian seemed fine.

"Yay! You two came to rescue us," Feliciano cheered. He hesitantly started climbing back down beside Yao and Kiku.

Ivan was growling, though he still seemed to have an innocent look on his face, at the other people. He raised his fists threateningly, all-in-all he was pretty terrifying.

"Tch, this won't work. I seemed to have miscounted. What a pain. Oh well, I suppose I'll have to collect you children later," the head scientist said. "I have enough for now and your other friends already cost me more than half of my men." He turned carelessly, starting back toward the street.

Ivan smiled. "Where do you think you are going? We have not finished playing yet." He stalked forward, ready to grab hold of the man.

He seemed prepared for this, for in the blink of an eye he had tuned and pressed a metal device on Ivan's torso. The result was surprising, Kiku, Feliciano, and Yao watched in horror as Ivan jerked back. The Russian looking genuinely in pain, backing away from him with a confuse expression.

"I would keep those hands to yourself. I'm sure you wouldn't want this again." He held u the small device, two barbs sticking from one end, they sparked. "It's used to…'tame' unruly animals like you." With that he walked on and out of sight, leaving Ivan to fume silently. He would have pursued but at the moment there were there matters to attend to.

Yao was currently inspecting Kiku's head. "I don't think it's as bad as it looks, aru. Maybe you'll just have a bad headache?"

Ivan walked back over to stand beside them quietly.

"Ve…what are we going to do now? Everyone else is gone," he cried. "We have to rescue them, but it's so scary, but then I might never see Ludwig again!" He started to ramble, only managing to work himself up and give Kiku a headache.

Yao and Ivan exchanged confused glances. "The other are gone, aru?"

Kiku nodded, looking thoughtful as he explained their predicament. "We will have to go after these people and find them."

Ivan nodded in agreement and smiled. "I would like to break a few of those people's bones. It would make me very happy to do that."

"Can we even rescue them though, aru. I mean there are only four of us now. Well three who can fight," Yao said, eyeing Feliciano.

Feliciano let his ears droop. "I can be useful and help. Ve~ I can really!"

Yao sighed and rubbed his temples. "This will be difficult. We don't even know anything about where they were taken, aru. We have next to no information."

Kiku let a small smile cross his face. "I think we will have to retrace our steps. I'm sure if we can pick up their scent, any of them, then we might be able to track them." He felt some pride deep inside his chest at the fact he had the keenest sense of smell out of the four of them. "I should be able to, if we can find that scent."

The other nodded, feeling better with at least part of a plan in mind. Of course there was still much to think about and figure out. For now they would take what they could get though.

Kiku pushed the horrid sorrow from losing his family, who his memory of was vague anyway, to the back of his mind. There would be time to worry of that later, but right now his new friends were in trouble. _I met these people only a few days ago and yet, so much has happened. _He sighed softly, standing up. _I'm sure any more excitement will surely kill me._

Kiku really didn't know how close he and his friends would come to those words though. For now it was best to look at the brighter side of things, instead of the impending darkness to come. However, these things are better left unsaid…for now.


	11. Chapter 10

Alfred groaned softly his eyes shut tight. He was aware of laying on a hard metal surface, curled up because of the small space. Alfred was unaware, however, of the blurry figure standing just outside the cage he was situated in. He rolled over starting to gather himself and tried to sit up. "Ouch!" He had sat up too fast, hitting his head on the top of the cage. "What the heck..?" Alfred rubbed his eyes and looked around.

The room he was in was completely bare of everything save for his cage and a desk with some papers scattered about on it. The walls were a sad grey, floor tiles a matching color. The room itself was dreadfully cold for Alfred, his breath easily seen. The thought nagging his mind was where everyone else had gone, a certain Brit in particular.

"Where am I? Arthur? Gilbert? Ludwig?" He called out their names one-by-one worriedly. He felt uncomfortable in the small space, his wings having to be nearly wrapped around himself. He looked toward the single door and froze. A pair of violet eyes was staring at him from the tiny window on the door. They were narrowed in thought, a familiarity about them, Alfred couldn't quite place.

The eyes blinked slowly, never leaving from Alfred's own. There were many different emotions in that gaze; curiosity, longing, and sorrow. Suddenly the eyes were gone as if they had never been there.

"Well that was... weird" Alfred said, scratching the back of his head. "I better focus on getting out of here though." He put the strange encounter out of his mind. He began to try and find any weaknesses in the cage and was disappointed when it didn't budge. He ended up curling back against a far corner, wings wrapped tightly around himself. He was faintly aware of a nasty sting coming from the healing cut on his neck. "Ow," he whined unhappily, reaching up and gently brushing his fingers over the cut. When he withdrew his hand there was a black substance on his fingers. Alfred immediately began to panic, wiping away the liquid.

"Quite a nasty cut you've got there." Rune, a sickeningly familiar man commented. At one point he had slipped into the room and was currently leaning against the wall. "Shame too because you don't get to evolve along with your other friends. Not that you won't be somewhat useful to me." He was writing down a few notes on a sheet of paper.

Alfred growled at the man, not sounding very threatening in his current position. "What are you doing to them?!"

Rune smirked to himself, ignoring the question. "I am quite happy to have you all, well almost all, back in my possession. It was hard to get those persistent policemen off my trail but I have succeeded. No one is looking for you lot now, I have all the time in the world to play."

Alfred pressed back against the bars. "I will get us out of here! I am the hero and I will save everyone. The villain, that's you, never wins anyway." He puffed out his chest, certain.

"How can you do that when you are already in a pretty deadly situation yourself?" He asked and raised an amused eyebrow.

Alfred scoffed. "What? This little scratch is nothing. I can still kick your ass all over this room if I could get to you." Alfred didn't seem at all concerned of the small injury.

"Too bad. I am certain with a bit of persuasion you could have been a great asset. Mindless isn't as much fun because of such a great loss of potential. Oh well, science always has its setbacks." Rune smiled to himself. "I'll have you do one thing for me first, just to check something and it will be a good demonstration for your other friends to see what I wish to achieve."

"Like hell I'd help you with anything..." Alfred muttered to himself.

"I'll see you outside. Don't worry I'll make sure your friends are comfortable to watch the show." Rune waved behind himself, strolling out the door.

Alfred watched him go, eyes narrowed unhappily. Just before the door closed Alfred managed to catch a sight that made his blood run cold, he felt as if he was looking into a mirror; a horrifyingly familiar mirror with cold, emotionless violet eyes. "M-Matthew!?"


	12. Chapter 11

Matthew woke up, a bright light shining directly in his face. He shook his head from side-to-side trying to block out the light but to no avail. He was faintly aware of voices from somewhere off to his right but he wasn't certain who was speaking or what about. Matthew was also aware of the fact something was tied around his ankles and wrists, locking him in place.

"So you did manage to secure one of them? That is a relief, perhaps he can be useful to getting the others."

Matthew turned his head toward the voice, listening in on whoever was speaking. _Where am I? What's going on?_

"He is the sibling of the other one correct? Yes, I am aware that they already escaped from the hospital. I have personnel going to retrieve them and that white-haired boy who got loose earlier. Of course I am taking care of this one, he was showing signs earlier than the rest so we had him moved before their group woke up. Control? A very simple matter. Yes, goodbye I hope to hear from you again soon." There was a _click _from a phone being turned off.

Matthew had managed to open his eyes, looking up toward the man formally known as, Rune. He didn't understand a word of what that man had said, something about a hospital? Matthew tried to think back but only remembered getting up for breakfast and eating some pancakes with his brother before everything suddenly became fuzzy. Thinking too hard started giving him a headache.

Rune glanced down at him, raising an eyebrow and smiling. "Good morning, Matthew. I am glad to see you have woken up." His voice was filled with false politeness and warmth.

Matthew wrinkled his nose, refusing to speak. He didn't know who this guy was but he didn't trust him not with the position he was currently in. "..."

"Now don't be so rude. I always thought you were the polite one of your siblings. Doing what your told and trying to stay out of trouble."

The word sibling seemed to be the only thing that got through to him, violet eyes widening a bit. "You know Alfred? Where is he?!" Matthew started to struggled, trying to get out of his restraints but growing aware of the slight pain in his upper back.

"Calm down. He is fine I assure you, him and all of the others. I am having them collected as we speak so you will see him again." Rune assured Matthew, brushing a hand through the other's hair.

Matthew moved away from his touch immediately. "What is going on? Why am I here? What are you doing?" He asked, question after question, not missing a beat.

Rune shushed him, slowly explaining that their parents had dropped them off here. "You see you and your brother are ill. Your parents sent you here to get better and I intend to help you." His voice was soft, soothing Matthew somewhat.

"I-ill? I don't remember being sick," he muttered. Matthew tried twisting his head now worried about the pain in his back. "But my back hurts."

Rune smiled at him. "There is a very logical explanation for this." He reached over and gingerly plucked a single white feather with a blacked tip from his back.

Matthew's eyes widened considerably. "Where did you? Why d-do I?" He shook, glancing over to see a large wing protruding from his back. He was close to absolute panic, struggling starting up again. "Get it off!" His soft-spoken voice was raised slightly.

Rune pet the wing, feeling the feathers beneath his fingertips. "Having these will not hurt you. In fact, you should feel honored to be part of this. It is an amazing gift, your brother has one too. He didn't seem unhappy with this."

Matthew looked at him as if he were crazy. "But this isn't normal...Please can you fix this?" His mind was still absorbing the fact he wasn't dreaming.

"I'll need your assistance later. You see there was a little complication with things," Rune went on, ignoring Matthew's question. "I sent someone a bit stronger to captu- collect your brother and his friends but it didn't go quite as expected." He sighed, shaking his head. "I will be needing you now more than ever. Will you help me?"

"I want to go home.."

Rune put a hand to Matthew's cheek, the latter shuddering and leaning away in turn. "Too bad. With your compliance this would have been much smoother. It is nothing I can't fix though. I've got a special treat for you."

Matthew felt as if a rock dropped into his stomach. "I don't think I want whatever this is." He had subtly managed to pull his left hand free and took the chance to work on getting the other restraints off.

Rune turned and had gone over to a table, picking up a metal, high-tech looking collar. It was a plain grey color with a small flashing red light on the side though on closer inspection there were two small needles on either side of the inside of the collar. "This won't hurt one bit, I promise you."

Matthew had just gotten the last restraint off. "N-no, I won't even try." He hopped up, bolting for the nearest door with both wings spread wide.

Rune grinned a bit, shaking his head and pulling out a small remote. "These don't work unless you are close enough, thankfully for me you are." He clicked the small button which sent a signal to the anklet Matthew was wearing.

"Ah!" Matthew squeaked in pain, a jolt of electricity shooting through his body and sending him tumbling to the floor. He landed awkwardly, pulling a muscle somewhere in his right wing.

"Now sit still and be a good boy. This is for your own good and safety." Rune strolled over, securing the collar around Matthew's neck with minimal difficulty.

Matthew cried out, pain washing over him before everything started to go dark and he went still. "Ugh..."

Rune smiled, petting the boy's head and helping him to his feet. He stepped back, noticing Matthew's eyes had dulled considerably. "Now there is someone I need you to 'take care of'."

Matthew nodded slowly, tilting his head.

"Let's just see how strong you really are." Rune said darkly, leading him away and out the door down a hallway.

The last thing Matthew remembering was hearing a vaguely familiar voice and seeing a startled pair of cerulean eyes.


	13. Author's Note

_Hello readers! This is just a small author's note. I won't be able to update any of my stories for a while. School is starting next week and work from my job is piling up. I'll be working on the stories I have up AND a prequel to Ti Amo, Brother whenever I have time to do so._

_Updates will be between one week to, at the most, a month._

_There may also be some changes to Hybrids. Maybe only the last couple of chapters._

_So with that, I thank all of you who are patiently waiting for the next update._


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